


we are all just stars (that have people names)

by starkovsnesta



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23399371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkovsnesta/pseuds/starkovsnesta
Summary: Kaz and Inej find a moment of peace and they decide to let down their defenses under a night full of stars.Just a moment of softness between these two.
Relationships: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa
Comments: 4
Kudos: 103





	we are all just stars (that have people names)

_We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains. 93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames, we are all just stars that have people names_

Nikita Gill-

Kaz has barely ever known gentleness in his whole life. He doesn't remember what having a mother or a father means, let alone the small, precious moments even he must have had too: a kind smile on his mother's mouth when he did something silly, a sweet caress on his head his father must have given him. 

He had Jordie, once. Although his brother had never been like that with him. He remembered laughter, bright smiles, even hugs. But not softness. 

Jordie was cheerful, energetic. He dreamed fiercely and loved just the same way. He didn't know how to stay quiet, thinking his life's purpose was to be as loud as one can to be heard from all around the world. But he was too naive to be greedy, and that had led to his death. 

Growing up as he did, fighting his way through the cruel world with bare teeth and splintered punches, Kaz discovered how the prerogative of gentle hands and loving eyes had just faded in front of his eyes. 

Of all the most difficult things to give up on, being loved was perhaps the one that had hurt him the most. The kid he once was found that nearly impossible. Hope is a fragile and yet stubborn thing, not letting anyone get away from its hold until it's too late. 

No matter how many terrible crimes he committed, how many people he stole from, or how many others he wounded, tortured or killed. The thought wouldn't simply leave his mind. Kaz had taken it almost as a challenge. He wanted to prove himself how much of a monster he was, and how undeserving of love he was doomed to be. 

A doom he had certainly chosen and worshipped through the years. _It's not love that is going to make me a king_ , he thought, _it's power_. And yet, isn't love just another form of power over someone else? Isn't it just another ocean he could drown in? 

As much as the idea should horrify him, make him run away, it doesn't when he lays next to Inej that night. 

They're on the roof of the Crow Club, a place they have been to many times before but for different reasons, regarding more the jobs he had forced her to be part of than anything else. In those times, Kaz thought she must have hated him. He knows even now that part of him had hated himself too for what he had caused her. 

Both of their bodies lay down an old cotton blanket, facing the dark sky above them. He can feel the closeness of her, the warmth that radiates from her small body is almost intoxicating. It's like a torture to be so close to her without touching. He feels attracted towards her skin like a magnet, and despite that, they don't touch. 

They have begun this new thing too recently, and given the issues they both have, Kaz isn't sure neither of them could bear any sort of touching right now. 

But he's making an effort, for her. 

This small yet lethal girl who managed to sneak up on him without making herself be heard. This young Suli that had become a legend, the Wraith, that could scare off even the richest and most influential people of Ketterdam. The discoverer of secrets, the ghost, the daughter of darkness. 

This incredible, strong, courageous creature that, for some unknown reason, wanted him, a rotten thing the world had chewed and spitted out with disgust. 

The only part of their bodies that is connected is their hands. He doesn't wear any gloves and he can feel the soft skin of her hands. They are so small compared to his that it almost makes him laugh. He has joked on her height many times, mostly to annoy her. They both know that her stature isn't a weakness, nor something to mock, but one of her various strengths. 

Inej is watching the stars with a bright light in her face illuminated only by the moon and the weak city's street lights. 

The hand that doesn't hold his raises up at times to point at constellations she knows the story of. When she explains them to him with her calm voice, he looks at the sky trying to see what she does. But most of the times he doesn't focus very much on the words she pronounces. Hearing her voice always has a calming effect on him, and he can't help but close his eyes and relax, concentrating his energies on that soothing sound instead of their bare skin pressed together. 

She knows, of course. 

And doesn't stop, not even when he stays quiet and doesn't reply. 

Right now, they're just staring at the sky, not saying a word. 

Kaz's head jumps from one detail to another to keep himself from shuttering down. The quick breathing coming out of Inej's nose, the roughness of the blanket under them, the distant chatting and laughing coming from the Crow Club below. 

"I have always felt close to the stars" Inej breaks the silence. 

Kaz waits, letting her keep talking. But she doesn't. 

He turns to look at her, and his breath is caught in his chest. She looks absolutely devastating. Her silk hair is sprawled on the blanket, like a halo. Her skin glows under the starlight, and her lips are slightly parted, as if she's stuck in a memory right now. 

"I thought you felt connected with the sky in general" Kaz answers "because of your talents" 

"I do" her voice comes from far away "but my heart has always felt attached to the stars. I think it's because of all of the tales and legends my father used to tell me when I was younger". 

She lets out a small breath, and then slowly turns her head to face him. 

Her eyes roam around his face, observing every little detail. He feels a little self-aware, but doesn't turn away. He won't hide from her. He wants her to see him.

She finally finds a point where to fix her gaze, just above his right cheekbone.

"I liked the idea of having thousands of burning stars watching over me. Just like my Saints. Sometimes I even talked to them at night." she laughs weakly "a silly habit I got rid of only after being thrown on a suffocatingly narrow carriage. At the time, I thought I would have never seen the sky again. It only added to the despair and loneliness I was fed on. " she pauses, traveling with her eyes on him again, just to lock them on his. She is burning with rage and something else he couldn't quite comprehend. "Until you found me". 

Those words are enough to make him lose his balance. It's terrifying how she can have such power on him. 

Love is indeed another form of power, he thinks. 

For a long time, neither of them pronounces a word. The statement she's done still lingers in the air between them. The small opening Inej has given him makes Kaz feel warm. He knows they both have suffered in their pasts, and came out completely different from that pain, but he can't help but feel utter fury for the dreamful, bright girl she was. 

"Inej" he whispers. The name sounds so desperate on his lips, like she was the only anchor for his sinking heart. 

She keeps looking at him, patiently waiting. She never pushes him to speak, and he feels grateful. 

For once, he lets his own gaze linger on her graceful profile. His fingers crawl with the need to trace her delicious lines. But he's not strong enough to force himself to do it just yet. 

He clears his throat. 

"You're going to need this connection of yours for your future journeys on the sea".He says the word "journeys" in a mocking way. They both know they're going to be more like missions than simple travels.

Her enemies truly don't know what's coming to get them, and he feels a jolt of pride at the thought. 

The words make her breathe a weak laugh. "I really do". 

They stay like this for what feels like eternity. And Kaz finds that he doesn't mind. Despite the fear, the intensity of her stare or even the oddness of the situation (he bet anyone would have cracked up if hearing that the bastard of the Barrel was sharing a sweet moment in the roof with his Wraith). 

Inej brushes away some hair that falls on her cheek, pushing it away behind her ear, and he is completely mesmerized by the small movement. 

Her fingers are slim and her touch is delicate, he feels it as he intertwines them with his own, feeling brave for a second. Inej caresses his knuckles with her thumb. 

The gesture is hesitant, and way too gentle, she puts little pressure on it, scared that he would run away. 

But he doesn't. 

Not even as he feels his stomach writhe for the feeling. 

He has suffered from mortal wounds, he has been punched nearly to death, he has bled and bled. 

This one is a different kind of pain, one that he's keen to welcome. 

"I wish this moment would never end" he whispers, because she has been talking to him for the past few hours just to distract him and because she has given him a confession, he finds he could give her that. 

The reaction the words have on Inej's face are worth it.

Her eyes glow with the same light she has watched him with many times, her face softens while a smile breaks on her face. A true, sun-like smile. It's so easy to make her smile like that. It could become a vice. 

She doesn't answer with words, and he doesn't ask them. Instead, she pulls his hand and rests it on her chest, where he feels her heart beating fast as if singing the word _alive, alive, alive_. 

Kaz closes his eyes, smiling. 

He has never known what love is, but he knows that, despite all odds, he is ready to find out that specific secret with the precious girl that is now holding him so tight. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time i write about them and i feel really soft in this moment. I just felt inspired to write something sweet, a moment of tranquility where they can be themselves. Kaz and Inej are one of my favorite couples, i truly love them.  
> Let me know what you think!  
> You can find me on tumblr and twitter (@starkovsblythe in both cases)


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